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Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Let me get this all down (aka we are moving)

(This is a five minute bike ride from our house. Taken on Sunday)

I am realizing more and more that the big decisions in life have to be made with your gut. Not your heart, not your head. We are moving. It might not sound like the best decision based on logic. Read on for a look into my head lately.

Here are the facts:

Work: We have excellent jobs here in small-town Clarenville. We developed our own schedule, and each get a day home with our little dude every week because we both work less than full-time. At the same time, we are super busy so we make the same (or more) as we did when we were both working full-time. I have two assistants and two chairs, and get to do absolutely anything I want, work-wise. We have a patient family that trust us, and we have been earning that trust over the past three years. We have excellent coworkers. Basically, our careers are flourishing here in all the ways that you can measure.

Housing: We own a house that we bought when the housing market here was insane, and we could not find a rental for less than $3000 per month. So we bought a kinda overpriced starter house which we have grown to really love. Now, the market has normalized around here (aka, selling our house is a lose-lose situation, guaranteed).

Flights: We take so many flights every year. So many. Cohen will have had 50 flights before he turns three. We need to do so many flights because it is the only way to see family and friends. We spend a lot of money on those flights and on hotels, etc. Even parking at the airport adds up. Also, we live two hours from the airport. Not convenient.

Family: My sister has a three-month-old who I haven't met, and it's killing me. Not to mention my niece, who I miss so much. We Facetime, but it's not the same. Jon's parents are a bit older, so it's not as easy to get them to fly up here and rent a car and drive to our place all by themselves. We see my parents quite a bit (usually around once a month), but at a significant cost to all of us since we tend to meet in cities we don't live in so Jon and I can attend lectures. We are craving family time in a way that we never expected.

Small-town blues: Our town is missing a few things I really, really miss. For example, I want Cohen to take swimming lessons, but with only one pool (in the hotel), they are not offered here. Also, coffee shops. Restaurants. A place to get ice cream other than McDonalds.

All this added up to me feeling like maybe we would just stay for one more year, then figure out where to go. That was around Christmastime. Then, somehow, J and I both just knew we had to move. Nothing changed. We still have an awesome job and we still miss our family. We just both know deep down in our guts that it's time to go. So we are going. In August. We are selling our red box and we are getting jobs in the small town I graduated high school from 14 years ago. The small town with a big gym and swimming lessons and splash pads and running tracks and my parents. And a sushi restaurant and a coffee shop. And yoga. I could go on.

So that's what has been happening around here lately. Even though it's gonna be stressful, and even though we have lost some sleep over this whole huge transition already, we know it's right. We are absolutely sure of our decision, and for that, I am so grateful.

4 comments:

Decisions like this are always tough. And, yes, sometimes you just have to go with your gut. That small town you are leaving will have left a life-time impression. Happy though, for the small town you are returning to. Safe travels and smooth move will be our prayers for the three of you. That small town will also benefit from the professional skills you will bring to it.

Cool blog. Your reasons for moving were very intriguing and resonated with my wife and I. Like you, we are parents, and we also happen to live really far away from family. Having to get on a plane so much is annoying, but definitely a necessary evil. With how expensive rent is, owning just makes more sense.

Moving is a huge decision. You really do have to trust that gut feeling you get when you're considering a major move. I really should have listened to my gut when I moved into my first apartment. My heart and mind said it was the right decision but it turned out to be a huge mistake. Lesson learned the hard way!

I really appreciate your blog, and it greatly resonated with my situation of the last year. Major life-changes and relocations are scary. All you can do is take it a day at a time and understand it's a process that is anything but easy. You'll get through it and just keep in mind that it's worth it for your family.